Satan's Satyrs - Wild Beyond Belief

Satan's Satyrs play dirty, dingy rock and roll tinged with that punk attitude that everyone loves so much (amirite?). The guitar tone here is off the chart, transporting you right to the heart of Fuzz City USA. We lose a bit of clarity in the overall production sound, which is a bit muddy, and the drums have this strange treble-heavy density to them (which is rather intruding at first but you get used to it), almost as if they are being played in another room away from you, but if anything, this just adds to the charm of the record, which is a highly enjoyable, mirky romp through witch/doobie burning excellence.

"Electric Witchwhipper" is probably my favourite track, and is just totally dripping in sleaze, making me want to dive into a swimming pool filled with 80s exploitation films (ouch!). Check it out below.

Gorilla Pulp - Peyote Queen

Fantastic heavy stoner rock from Italy. Think Samsara Blues Experiment but heading off in a more straight-forward, Kyuss-themed direction, rather than becoming lost in endless songs. The psych here is well controlled and reigned in, but do not fret - there is plenty of "woah!", "man!," and "duuuude!" moments here to keep perpetuating the frrrreakah enough to space these bluesy numbers out into the stoner territory. Hey, there's even a Peter Frampton-style wah part towards the end. What more do you need? Also, as a strange off-note, sometimes the vocalist gets really into these heavy redneck American stylings, it almost sounds like ex-Mushroomhead frontman Waylon Reavis.

Honestly though, it's all a bit typical of this kind of thing and brings absolutely nothing new to the table. That isn't to say that this isn't an enjoyable listen, just don't expect Gorilla Pulp to re-invent the wheel. All the tropes are in place; the beautiful crunching guitars, the (probably) hand-painted 60s tits on the record sleeve, and the song titles such as "Magic Mushroom", "Witch Boogie" and "Electric Woman".

It's time to shake the dust off those bell bottoms and scrap all the crap out of your bong.

Om - Variations On A Theme

Without getting too cringe there is something magical about Om's music. Perhaps it's the chanting, trance-like rhythm of the majority of their songs, or perhaps it's the seemingly perfect balance that Al Cisneros strikes between riff and distortion. Either way, Om can turn a 20 minute song into what feels like one of those daydreams that has lasted only seconds but in your head you have traversed entire worlds. "Shit, how long have I been out?"

I've recently started a new job with a lot of early starts, and as much as I love grindcore and death metal, it quickly became apparent that half 5 in the morning is not the time to listen to something that is so aurally abrasive. This continues to give me ample opportunities to catch up on genres that I usually push to the side, and whilst I feared that listening to Om would put me back to sleep whilst tanning it down the M4 and result in my fiery death, I actually just caught up on a band that I forgot existed and had a banging time listening to something that wasn't intentionally trying to blow my head off.

Press play, you will. 

Jucifer - L'autrichienne

I have been beyond in love with Jucifer (or maybe it's just frontwoman Amber Valentine ;D) ever since I saw them playing in Temples Fest last year. They have always been one of those bands that I wanted to check out but I never got around to doing so. I was expecting some half-arsed female-fronted stoner rock bullshit that's all the rage these days, but Jucifer tore me a new arsehole and blew away most of the bands that played that day, including the revered headliner Electric Wizard. They made an incredible amount of noise for a band consisting of two people.

I believe that L'autrichienne (a concept album about Marie Antionette) showcases every facet of Jucifer in every possible way. As far as 'rock' goes, Jucifer are entirely genreless. The album opens with a sunkissed rock and roll number ("Blackpowder") before blasting through messy, muddy grindcore and then into the almost acoustic siren song of "To Earth", all within three songs! I get a Children Of God-era Swans vibe from the way the music is so juxtaposed from savage brutality to ethereal fragility. It happens again shortly after when the grinding mass of "Fall Of The Bastille" cuts straight into "To The End". It's like Anal Cunt doing a split with Imogen Heap, and it's fucking brilliant.

"Armarda" brings sludgy death-doom onto the menu before the absolutely insanely gorgeous title track steals your heart for 5 minutes. Other highlights include "Birds Of A Feather", the 9 minute doom epic "The Mountain" and the creepy-ass outro track "The Assembly". Seriously give this a listen if you've never heard of this band before.

Bong - Stoner Rock

What part of this release constitutes as ‘rock’ I’m not entirely sure, but Bong have got the ‘stoner’ part of the title 100% correct. Well, with a name like Bong would more would you expect? Such a simple yet fathomless name can only lend itself to a simple (in theory) yet fathomless (in practice) sound. Bong is music for those who aren’t afraid to sit tight and experience the long haul; the great build up, the magic of the meandering drone into a stoned culmination of noise and bliss. Yes. It certainly made the inane task of steaming spilt coffee / beer / questionable substances off my beige sofa a much more enjoyable  task. For when you want your mundane housework to become a mystical journey into the arcane, I recommend Bong. Don’t be fooled by the 2 track running time, these are enormous stoned monuments of fuzz.

Dead Meadow - Dead Meadow

Welcome to a world of fuzz.

Boasting one of the greatest (yet simplest) guitar tones that I have ever heard, Dead Meadow's turn of the century debut dreamscape of a record is a fantastic trip through a stoned, lush world of 60s and 70s influenced rock music. The opening track, "Sleepy Silver Door", is quite simply one of the greatest things ever put to tape. It's one of my favourite stoner-related tracks, with simple yet amazing riff, beastly guitar solo and epic lyrics: "Can't find a key to the sleepy silver door / I'm washed up on the shore of reality".

If you are prepared to wade through a swamp of steaming rock music, viewing life through the lens of a grainy outdoor camera that the BBC used in the 80s, I strongly recommend you some Dead Meadow. It is the perfect music for a serene low-dose trip on nature's finest psilocybin-rich fungi, to traverse forests and mountains - potentially barefoot - pondering the wonders of nature and generally just feeling really good about yourself and everything around you. 

I'll be quiet now. Spark up and love. 

Black Moth - The Killing Jar

The Killing Jar is quite possible one of the crappiest names for an album I've ever come across, but let's not let that tarnish things here. Black Moth are a dirty rock and/or roll band with stoner and doom metal influences. They've been around for a few years now but I hadn't heard of them until they were announced for Temples Festival this year. I was too smashed to watch them (story of my life) on the day but they did make my "check out everyone playing Temples" list on Spotify, from where I then migrated to checking out their entire album.

The Killing Jar is a brilliant record, combining raunchy swagger with heavy guitar riffs and a rocking pace. The vocals provided by Harriet Bevan are equal parts teasing, powerful and even cheeky. It's like somebody put the sounds of Kyuss and Blues Pills into a blender, along with some essence of garage rock. Opening track "The Articulate Dead" is a corker, and was even a single release for the band (on 7" too), but my favourite tracks are the hat-trick of "Chicken Shit", "Blind Faith" and "Plastic Blaze", which are towards the end of the album. 

This record was put out on both CD and vinyl by the New Heavy Sounds label, whose small roster includes fellow stoner/doom influenced rockers, Throne. But yeah, check out Black Moth, they rule.